The present invention relates to formulations for neutralization of chemical, biological and industrial toxants; for mold remediation; and to methods of making same. In particular, the present invention is directed to decontamination formulations comprising a solubilizing compound, a reactive compound, a bleaching activator, a mold remediation enhancer, and water; that can be delivered, for example, as a foam, spray, liquid, fog, mist, or aerosol for neutralization of chemical compounds, and for killing certain biological compounds or agents and mold spores, on contaminated surfaces and materials.
Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N. Mex., has developed a family of decontamination formulations called “DF-200.” DF-200 formulations comprise a solubilizing compound, a reactive compound, a bleaching activator, and water. Related decontamination formulations developed by Tucker et al. at Sandia Labs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,566,574 and 6,723,89.
Although DF-200 (i.e., the family of “DF-200” formulations) was developed primarily to neutralize chemical and biological warfare agents, e.g., sarin gas, VX gas, mustard gas, botulinum toxin, anthrax spores, the virus that causes SARS; and toxic industrial chemicals, e.g., malathion, butyl isocyanate, sodium cyanide, sodium disulfide, and phosgene, it can also be used for the disinfection and/or sterilization of other biological pathogens that are related to public health issues. One such application is mold remediation. Mold growth is a problem in many public and private facilities throughout the U.S. and the world. It can become a serious problem in homes and buildings, for example, in the aftermath of floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. Of particular interest in mold remediation are organisms such as Stachybotrys, Cladosporidium, Basidiospores, and Pennicullium mold spores.
DF-200 formulations have been previously determined to be effective against mold-related microorganisms. EnviroFoam Technologies is a licensee of the Sandia Decon Formation (DF-200). The product manufactured by EnviroFoam Technologies, EasyDECON™-200, is based on DF-200 and has been tested against Stachybotrys mold spores by MICROBIOTEST, Inc. (a U.S. EPA certified laboratory located in Sterling, Va.) using the AOAC Use Dilution Test protocol.
Stachybotrys chartarum (S. chartarum) was dried on stainless steel pennicylinders and exposed to EasyDECON™-200 for 60 minutes at 20±2° C. Carrier counts were an average of 3.4×104 CFU/carrier. All of the controls met the criteria established for a valid test. Although a 60 minute contact time was designated by the test protocol, complete kill of the mold spores was exhibited within 5 to 10 minutes. There was no re-growth of Stachybotrys mold spores after contact with EasyDECON™-200. Results are shown below in Table 1, which shows the number of positive tests (i.e., tests where organisms survived)/total number of tests.
TABLE 1Effect of EasyDECON ™-200 on Stachybotrys mold sporesEasyDECON ™-200EasyDECON ™-200Microorganism(Batch 1)(Batch 2)S. chartarum0/100/10
For remediating mold at an actual, contaminated site, DF-200 is used in two general application methods. First, DF-200 is applied as a liquid to areas that are visibly contaminated with high levels of mold growth. Some physical scrubbing or agitation may also be used to help DF-200 penetrate into the interior of the mold growth. Following application of liquid DF-200 to areas of heavy mold growth, the contaminated facility is then filled with a fog or mist of DF-200. This fog is typically generated by commercially-available cold fogging or thermal fogging devices in droplet sizes of 50 μm or smaller.
EnviroFoam Technologies (through various subcontractors) has recently used this method to decontaminate several mold-contaminated facilities. However, inconsistent results were observed in the fogging portion of the remediation process. Under nearly identical fogging conditions, different batches of EnviroFoam's EasyDECON™-200 yielded greatly different efficacy against mold spores of interest. Through a series of tests, it was determined that batches of EasyDECON-200 that achieved high efficacy against mold spores contain a low concentration of iron, while those batches that were less effective did not contain iron.
Against this background, the present invention was developed.